Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (9 page)

To Solomon, banishing anxiety was an act of the will. The Buddhist action of renouncing all worldly desires is similar: You take each thing that you were desiring or worrying about and choose to treat it as not worth seeking in any way. Next, Buddha, as a radical existentialist, severs all human and “celestial” ties, both now and in the worlds to come (during future reincarnations). The fourth step, renunciation of every kind of desire, is a radical departure from
Judaism and Solomon’s views and practices. And it is a critical part of Buddha’s path to liberation.

At the very end of the Dhammapada are Buddha’s sayings about the many requirements for becoming a “Brahman,” one who is approaching enlightenment. Many of these focus on the renunciation of all desire. They are an extreme, radical application of the root idea present in Solomon’s citations:

Some of his Brahman proverbs portray the extreme to which Buddha went in pursuing renunciation:

The notion that renunciation, right living and being are keys to escaping from the consequences of desiring (cited above) is implicit in Proverbs 21:25–26:

When “the righteous” person “gives and does not spare,” he or she is engaging in an act of renunciation. The implication of the contrast to the lazy man, who dies, is that the opposite type of person (“the righteous”) will live.

The root idea, that renunciation of desires is key to being liberated from suffering, is clearly present in the above excerpts. Buddha sounded a similar theme in the following proverb:

This idea is also implicit in the next two proverbs of Solomon:

In the first verse, peace is presumably achieved by renouncing claims to whatever you have been seeking. The alternative is tenaciously desiring something someone else has, which “rots the bones.” In other words, envy is bad for one’s health. The second verse implies that one is better off with less if striving after more is causing stress.

Fourth Noble Truth: The Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering Is the Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path consists of a series of right perspectives, intentions, and actions that Buddhists believe will enable them to
approach enlightenment and an end to all suffering. To the follower of Solomon, the dedicated practice of the set of commands about right intentions and actions that make up “wisdom” will free them from the pitfalls and snares of this life and reward them in important ways. While Solomon did not argue that all earthly desires should be eliminated, he did clearly indicate that a righteous person’s determination to obtain wisdom should far exceed all other desires:

As we will next see in the next five chapters, the steps of the righteous person that Solomon advocated are virtually identical to those espoused by Buddha. The dedication that Solomon advised in following his path was substantial, though not as radical as Buddha advocated. Solomon said:

How might someone write a set of commands “on the tablet” of his or her heart? Would it not be through memorization and meditation? Since meditation was a well-known practice in Judaism during Solomon’s life (as detailed at the end of
Chapter Eight
), this would naturally be a reference to such practices.

In a parallel way, Buddha gave this teaching:

Buddha also offered this proverb:

The Three Jewels

The core of Buddhism is summarized in the following proverbs of Buddha:

The 190th proverb in the Dhammapada presents the Three Jewels of Buddhism. Each of these Jewels has a distinct counterpart in orthodox as well as secular Judaism.

As we saw in the first two chapters, it is quite possible that Buddha was well aware of both of these parallel systems within Judaism. In
developing his Three Jewels, he may have been inspired by what he believed was the best of each segment of Judaism in designing his new religion. Buddhism would be secular, and yet his followers would be much more attached to him than secular Jews were to Solomon. Moreover, Solomon’s followers were not organized into a religious order, whereas in the law of Moses there was a priestly class, the Levites who served at the temple. Buddhist monks find a parallel in the Levitical priests rather than in the ordinary Jews who considered themselves students of Solomon’s wisdom in secular Judaism. Buddha collected many proverbs (423 in the Dhammapada), much like Solomon’s, intended for the average person, but there would also be many laws addressed specifically to the monks and nuns who had given up everything to follow him. There are 227 laws for monks
⁴⁶
and 311 for nuns. Likewise, a portion of the 613 laws of Moses presented in the Torah prescribe Levitical duties and the operation of temple sacrifices.

What is strikingly different between Buddhism and Solomonic thought is Buddha’s radical commitment to renouncing the pleasures and possessions of this world, both wholesome and otherwise.

Chapter Four

Precursors to Buddha’s Right View and Intention

The eight steps of the Noble Path seem to come in pairs, so we will review them that way in successive chapters: